Oneness

We are all part of the One

Awwal Allah noor upaya; Kudrat ke sabh bande
Ek noor te sabh jag upajya; Kaun bhale kaun mande
– Bhagat Kabirji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib

One perfect lord manifested the first light; And of the same nature are all beings
Though one light was the world created; so why worry who is good or bad

One of the main philosophies of Sikhism that really resonates with me is the idea that we are all part of  One Divine, God, Energy, Universe, Vaheguru, Allah, Ram, Lord etc. whatever is your choice of the word. The Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhs, which they consider as a living embodiment of all their Gurus has teachings from Masters of varied faiths. There is Bhagat Kabir who didn’t prescribe to any particular faith, while being born to Hindus and raised by Muslims. There are saints from the Hindu Bhakti movement like Namdevji and Sufi dervishes like Baba Farid. It is said that when Guru Nanakji, the first Sikh Guru, realized the divine light one of the first things he said was there is no Hindu and there is no Mussalman, underscoring the fact that we are but the same children in the metaphorical eyes of one creation.

The same ideals were held through by all Sikh Gurus, with Guru Gobind Singhji, the tenth and last Sikh guru in human form said Manas ki jaat sab ek pehchano, the Divine recognizes all humans as one caste. There are martyrdoms of Guru Arjan Devji and Guru Teg Bahadurji, the fifth and ninth Gurus as examples of personal sacrifices made to uphold these ideals in times where believing and propagating such a philosophy was against the vested interests. We are blessed to live at a time were these ideals are at least philosophically agreed upon by most people, even if they may not be practically followed. That said if we truly believe in these ideals, then there is lot we can do individually to live it in our daily lives as examples for the rest.

Nothingness has no Religion
Silence has no mantra
Soul wears neither white or ochre
Divine lives in neither stone or gold

O Brothers and Sisters
We are neither white or black
Nor are we brown or yellow
Hear the Unstruck Sound
For it is forever with you